A newly surfaced video is now forcing fresh scrutiny onto the final days of Alex Pretti — the Minneapolis ICU nurse whose fatal encounter with federal officers has ignited protests nationwide — and the footage shows a volatile clash with agents that unfolded less than two weeks before he was shot and killed.
The video, reportedly recorded on January 13 and published by The News Movement, captures a tense street confrontation between Pretti and federal officers that quickly spirals from shouting to physical force. The images are jarring — not only because of the aggression on display, but because of how closely the incident mirrors what would happen just 11 days later.
Pretti, who was killed Saturday by Customs and Border Protection officers, appears in the clip wearing clothing strikingly similar to what he had on during his fatal encounter. The resemblance has become a haunting detail for those trying to piece together a timeline of escalating encounters between Pretti and federal authorities.
The footage begins with Pretti visibly agitated as federal agents sit inside an SUV preparing to leave the area. He can be heard yelling, pacing near the vehicle, and appearing to spit toward it as it pulls away. The confrontation, already heated, escalates suddenly and violently.
Without warning, Pretti lifts his foot and kicks the rear right tail light of the SUV with enough force to completely shatter it. The light is left dangling by exposed cords, swinging from the vehicle as it rolls forward. The damage instantly prompts a response from the agents.
Federal officers jump out of the SUV and chase Pretti down the street. Within moments, they slam him to the ground, restraining him as a crowd gathers around the scene. Onlookers scream at the agents as the struggle unfolds, turning the street corner into a chaotic flashpoint of shouting, confusion, and raw tension.
The confrontation appears intense — and potentially criminal — yet what happens next has raised serious questions.
Despite the damaged government vehicle, the physical takedown, and the visible volatility of the exchange, agents ultimately allow Pretti to get back to his feet. No arrest is made. No handcuffs. No immediate detention. Instead, Pretti is left standing on the street corner and then allowed to walk away.
The decision has stunned observers and become a key point of controversy in the wake of Pretti’s death.
A representative for the Pretti family confirms they were aware of the January 13 incident. According to the family, Alex sustained injuries during the altercation but did not seek medical treatment afterward. Those injuries — both physical and emotional — now loom large as part of a broader narrative about repeated confrontations with federal authorities.
As Pretti pulls away from the agents in the video, another chilling detail becomes visible. The butt of a handgun can be seen tucked into the rear waistband of his pants — positioned in the same manner it would be during his fatal encounter with federal officers days later.
The footage confirms that agents were dealing with an armed individual during the January 13 clash. However, the video does not show Pretti drawing the weapon or threatening anyone with it. Still, the presence of the gun has fueled intense debate about how the situation was handled — and why it ended without an arrest.
Steve Schleicher, the attorney for the Pretti family, strongly rejects any suggestion that the earlier incident could justify what followed.
“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents,” Schleicher tells TMZ. “Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on January 24.”
As previously reported, Pretti’s final encounter with federal agents unfolded in a similarly chaotic fashion. Eleven days after the January 13 incident, federal officers again confronted him on a city street. The situation escalated quickly, with agents wrestling Pretti to the ground.
During that struggle, a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer fired multiple shots. Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene.
The killing immediately sparked outrage.
In the days following Pretti’s death, protests erupted across Minnesota and spread to other parts of the country. Demonstrators have demanded accountability, transparency, and an independent investigation into the actions of federal agents involved in both encounters.
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump administration officials have publicly labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” — a designation that has enraged his family and supporters, who argue the label is being used to retroactively justify deadly force.
Civil rights advocates and legal experts are now questioning how a man involved in a violent confrontation with federal agents — one that included property damage and visible firearm possession — was allowed to walk away on January 13, only to be killed by federal officers less than two weeks later.
The Department of Homeland Security tells TMZ that Homeland Security Investigations is actively reviewing the newly released footage. It remains unclear whether the video will alter the course of any internal investigations or disciplinary reviews tied to Pretti’s death.
What is clear is that the footage has added a disturbing new layer to an already explosive case. The video does not just document a confrontation — it raises serious questions about decision-making, use of force, and how repeated encounters between one man and federal agents spiraled toward a deadly conclusion.
As the investigation continues and protests grow louder, the January 13 video ensures that Alex Pretti’s final days — and the actions of those who confronted him — will remain under intense national scrutiny.
